Police investigate attempted abduction

Nancy Flake

Published 6:00 pm, Thursday, January 16, 2003

At approximately 7:30 a.m., the student, either 13 or 14 years old, according to CISD Police Chief Bill Harness, was walking to her bus stop near East Williams Road and Doty Lane in east Montgomery County when she was approached by a man in a pickup truck.

"He opened the door and asked her to get in several times," Harness said. "He had the heater on and said, 'It's warm, come on in here.'"

The girl refused the man's invitations and continued walking to her bus stop. The man followed her in his vehicle a short distance, Harness said.

She then got on her bus. When she arrived at school, the girl called her mother and told her what happened. The mother called CISD Police to report the incident.

A letter was sent home Thursday afternoon to parents of students at Moorhead as well as Grangerland and Austin Elementary schools, which are in the same area as Moorhead.

The letter described the man as a white male in his late 40s or 50s and heavy set, with white hair and a white goatee.

Harness said the student also said the man was "dirty looking."

His vehicle is described as an early model, shiny-blue extended-cab truck with black interior.

But, Harness said, parents should not focus on just one vehicle.

"There's these bad guys out there," he said. "It's never just one car. They need to look at multiple cars."

The area where the girl's bus stop is located is somewhat isolated, according to Harness. "It's north of (Texas) 105, near FM 1485," he said. "It's not a heavily populated area, and there's not a whole lot out there."

The rural bus stops are a concern to school officials.

"It really is more of a concern for us out here than in urban areas," said Greg Poole, executive principal of Moorhead and Caney Creek High School. "These bus stops are really isolated.

"I'm proud of this girl. She was smart enough to report this."

The letter sent home to parents does emphasize the need for parents to talk to their children about the dangers of approaching people unknown to them. Cindy Cochran, mother of another Moorhead student, has been warning her daughter for years.

"My daughter has ridden my bus for the last eight years," said Cochran, a CISD bus driver. "She rode my bus all the way to south county because I would not leave her alone in east county.

"There's some weirdos out there."

Cochran said any students who are approached by strangers should tell their bus drivers as soon as they get on a school bus.

The driver can radio in and report the incident immediately.

Harness said information about the suspect and his vehicle has been given to the Montgomery County Sheriff's Department.

"They're looking for him, too," he said. "If he tries to do it again, we're going to catch him."

Anyone with information about the suspect can call CISD Police at (936) 539-0507 or the CISD Crime Stoppers anonymous tip line at (888) KID-CHAT.